 |
access key options 
skip navigation what's new home site map search
disability benefits consortium home page
about us | benefits | contact us | frequently asked questions | links | make a donation | membership | publications | tax credits | what we do | what you can claim
The additional costs of being a
disabled parent - speaker summariesEmma Stone, Principal research Manager Joseph Rowntree Foundation was the first speaker. She set out a number of themes which were developed by the following speakers.
In September 2003, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation launched a new report: The right support. The report, by Jenny Morris, presents the findings of a Task Force on Supporting Disabled Adults in their Parenting Role and sets out clear and practical recommendations for government departments and other public and voluntary sector bodies. The Task Force, which was set up in December 2000, consisted of disabled parents, researchers and representatives from government, social services and voluntary organisations (mainstream and specialist). It included parents and professionals from black and minority ethnic communities.
The Task Force adopted and argued for an approach that recognises that it is not impairment, learning difficulties or mental health needs that are primarily responsible for the difficulties they and their children face. Instead, the problem lies with unequal access to mainstream services, negative attitudes, a lack of appropriate and timely support, and the poverty and poor housing which can be associated with disability.
Issues identified by the Task Force
The Task Force met over a period of two years and heard evidence from parents, professionals and researchers on a wide range of issues affecting disabled parents and their children. These included:
Additional costs of being a disabled parent
The Task Force received evidence on whether disabled parents have additional costs which should be taken account of within the disability living allowance (DLA). Disabled parents identified that they incurred additional expenditure on a range of items such as:
John Keep, Director of the disabled parents network (DPN) was the next speaker. He gave a very informative and entertaining outline of the history of the DPN and what it offers. Disabled Parents Network is a national organisation of and for disabled people who are parents or who hope to become parents, and their families, friends and supporters. DPN is run by volunteers, with a small number of paid employees. It has around 200 members, and over 500 disabled parents on its Contact Register.
Margaret Creear, Assistant Chief Executive of Gingerbread was next to speak and she gave a very clear account of the particular problems faced by disabled lone parents. Disabled lone parents presentation:
Gingerbread is a grassroots organisation of lone parent families.
We provide a number of services.
Gingerbread want to look at the issues of disabled lone parents but so far had been unable to secure funding.
Lone parent families now account for almost a quarter of all families with dependent children in the UK. They are vulnerable to debt, material deprivation and hardship. Just over half of lone parents live in poverty making up 20% of those in poverty even though they are only 8% of the population. Lone parents also experience loneliness, social isolation and stress from being solely responsible for the care of children..
Research shows similar disadvantages associated with disability. Incomes of households with at least one disabled person are 20% to 30% lower than incomes of all households. Fewer disabled households receive income from work than non-disabled households. Sixty per cent of disabled adults in families with children have an income below half the general mean, after adjusting for extra costs (Enduring Economic Exclusion - Tania Burchardt, 2000). Therefore disabled lone parents are likely to be one of the most hard-pressed groups in our society.
While there is very little research on disabled lone parents, we know that approximately 10% of lone parents experience long-term illness or disability. The probability of a lone mother having a long-standing illness was 31% higher than for a couple mother. It would also be interesting and useful to find out the interrelationship between lone parenthood and disability.
Gingerbread's experience.
We encounter disabled lone parents in our membership, through other projects and via the advice line.
For example, there has been some emphasis in recent government policy on addressing the barrier that disability presents to finding and retaining paid employment. In recent work with lone fathers we saw that before becoming lone fathers 69% of disabled fathers were in employment, compared with 86% of all the respondents. After becoming a lone parent only 14% were in employment.
Most of the calls we receive from disabled lone parents relate to complexity and inadequacy of income, debt and difficulties in filling forms. What's clear from the case studies is the negative effect these issues have on mental and physical health.
Another concern has been around the area of childcare. The emphasis was on childcare for lone parents to go back to work and we understand the reasons for that but childcare support may also be desirable in circumstances where the parent is not yet ready for work. For example some disabled lone fathers who felt unable to access work at this stage needed childcare to give them space to address their issues. Most of the disabled fathers who did use childcare had to contribute to childcare out of benefits and were often supported by family members to meet costs. However about a fifth had no support network.
Simone Baker from the Disabled Parents Network gave a personal account of some of her experiences of being a disabled mother with a young daughter. This talk was illustrated with examples of situations which could have been made easier if appropriate support were available. Simone gave the example of inappropriate interventions from social services who showed an inability to understand that what was being asked for was support for her as a disabled parent and not support for her as a disabled person - such as help with getting her daughter washed and dressed and help with providing activities such as swimming. Simone said this situation made her feel very distressed as she was having to ask for help and because the help she was asking for was not forthcoming. Simone then highlighted the need for disability living allowance to take account of the additional costs of being a disabled parent.
Peter White, BBC disability correspondent, was the final person to speak. Peter gave an entertaining and thoughtful account of being a disabled parent. He provided the audience with examples from his own experience and said that he considered that children of disabled parents in particular those of visually impaired parents were more articulate as they would have to use to more descriptive language in conversation. and highlighted the importance of children of disabled parents being seen as simply children and not as is often the case as young carers which was a point which had been raised by John Keep from the Disabled Parents Network.
